Jackson, Weaver join Bobcats' athletic coaching staff

Georgia Northwestern has announced the hiring of two new coaches to the Bobcats’ staff.

Longtime teaching pro Eddie Jackson has been tabbed to take over the golf program, while former Silverdale Baptist Academy player Amber Weaver will be joining the Lady Bobcats’ staff as an assistant basketball coach. Weaver will also help out with the college’s volleyball program.

Jackson is a familiar name in the northwest Georgia golf community and has been the club pro at the LaFayette Golf Course since 2005. He replaces Jared Willerson, the school’s first golf coach, who stepped down following the NJCAA National Tournament back in June.

“I’m very excited,” Jackson said. “This is the first time I’ve ever done anything other than run golf courses and give lessons, but it kind of ties into my profession. I’m very excited to get started here at Georgia Northwestern, promoting golf and running the golf program.”

Jackson was a member of LaFayette High School’s 1976 state championship golf team and later earned a golf scholarship to Middle Tennessee State. He had a three-year run on the Florida mini-tours and played in three PGA events from 1980 to 1983.

He spent 21 years as a teaching pro in Alabama, before returning to LaFayette 11 years ago. Many of his former students have or are currently playing college golf, including his son Josh, who earned a scholarship to Gadsden State.

“It’s a great hire for us,” Georgia Northwestern Athletic Director David Stephenson said. “Not to just get someone of Eddie’s teaching background and his background in golf, but to find someone of his character and someone with his background in the community who already knows a lot of the kids.

“The more time I spent with him and the more we checked his references, it was his character and his love for the kids and his community that stuck out more than anything else. The only negative is that we weren’t able to get him in here before school started, but he’s the type of guy that’s going to take this thing and run with it. I’m super excited about this hire.”

Jackson said being able to work with local kids was an appealing part of the job.

“I’ve got a lot of kids that I have worked with in the past, some that I kind of helped lead up here when Jared was coaching,” he added. “When this opportunity came forward, I thought about those kids and thought ‘what a perfect fit’. I can use my talents at the golf course to promote golf here at the college and help build the program.”

Under Jackson, the golf program will move its home base to the LaFayette Golf Course exclusively. The team will practice at the course and Jackson said he hopes to be able to host a college tournament, perhaps as early as the spring.

The Bobcats won two straight NJCAA Division III regionals the past two years and qualified for the national tournament in New York both times. They finished third at nationals in their first trip in 2015 and were the national runners-up this past season.

Chase Cole was a first team All-American

twice, finishing as the individual runner-up in 2016, while Jordan Estes was a first team AllAmerican once and a second team All-American once.

However, with the majority of last year’s team out of eligibility at Georgia Northwestern, Jackson knows that he has a rebuilding job on his hands.

“They had a great two-year run here, but now we’re starting over and I’m looking forward to that,” he said. “Recruiting is the number one priority and number two is scheduling to see what we have and what we can do. I’ve still got to learn a lot about the college rules and learn what you can and can’t do. I’ve got a lot of self-education to do on my own to figure out what I can do within the rules to get kids here to play golf.”

“We’re hoping to have something in place by the spring, but it could take a full year to get it all going,” he continued. “I’m just thankful to my employers at the City of LaFayette to let me do this in addition to my regular job. With us practicing and doing everything down there, it should work well and be a good marriage.”

Stephenson said he and Jackson have already discussed possible plans to begin a women’s golf program at the school in the future.

Weaver comes to Georgia Northwestern after having played basketball for Stephenson for four years at Chattanooga’s Silverdale Baptist Academy nearly a decade ago. She also played four years of volleyball for the Seahawks.

She will replace Marissa Camp, who stepped down after last season to spend more time with her family.

Weaver earned an Associates’ Degree from Chattanooga State and studied at UTC and Western Governors. She currently teaches at Grace Baptist Academy in Chattanooga.

“I’m super excited,” Weaver said. “It’s a great opportunity to learn more and hopefully one day become a head coach myself.”

“Amber brings a knowledge, not just of sports, but of team building,” Stephenson explained. “She’ll be able to help our kids here develop and her knowledge of volleyball is a bonus. She’s done some coaching at the middle school level and she loves kids. Even though these kids are bigger and older than the ones she’s used to dealing with, I know she can handle it.”

Another one of Stephenson’s former high school players, Mark Wiedenbenner, is an assistant with the Bobcats’ men’s program, while Lady Bobcats’ assistant Johnny “Bud” Todd played for Stephenson as a member of the Bobcats in the early days of the program.

“I’ve found out through the years that it always helps to have people that played for you to help coach with you,” Stephenson said. “The already have the knowledge and they understand my philosophy. I already knew what type of person Amber was, so when the position popped up, I knew she would be a good fit. She knows what I expect and what I’m trying to build and do here.”

The Lady Bobcats' 2016-2017 season will begin their season on Nov. 1in Madisonville, Tenn. against Hiwassee College.

They will host Toccoa Falls College on Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. at the Rossville Athletic Center.